A 16-year-old high school student has been arrested in
central Turkey for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
by accusing him and his ruling party of corruption, sparking
angry criticism on Thursday from the opposition.
The boy, identified by his initials M.E.A., was believed to be
a member of a leftist organisation, the Hurriyet newspaper
reported.
He delivered a speech on Wednesday in the central Anatolian
city of Konya, a bastion of Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted Justice
and Development Party (AKP), in memory of a young secular
teacher killed by Islamists in 1930, according to the
newspaper.
The boy, who was arrested by police at school, is now
facing up to four years in prison if convicted on the charge.
It was the latest controversial arrest in Turkey in recent
weeks. Recent police raids on media outlets affiliated with
Erdogan’s top foe, the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen,
sparked an angry exchange with the European Union, which
said the arrests undermined media freedom.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu supported the court’s
decision on the juvenile’s arrest.
“Everyone must respect the office of president whoever he
is,” Davutoglu said, quoted in Turkish media.
In his testimony to prosecutors, the boy denied links with
any political party and said that the local governor’s office
granted permission for the commemoration ceremony
organised through social media.
“I’ve made the statement in question. I have no intent to
insult,” he reportedly said.
The boy’s lawyer, Baris Ispir, submitted a petition to the
court, together with around 100 colleagues who came from
Istanbul in a show of support.
“Even if he is convicted, he is 16 years old which requires a
one-third reduction in his penalty,” the lawyer said,
according to the private Dogan news agency.
Riza Turmen, lawmaker of the secular opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP), denounced the arrest as a violation of
the UN charter on children’s rights.
“Regimes taking children out of classes by police force and
putting them in jail are fascist regimes,” Turmen, a former
judge at the European Court of Human Rights, wrote on
Twitter.
“This goes against the UN charter on children’s rights.”
Turkey’s government faced an unprecedented wave of
protests in 2013 against what was seen as authoritarian
policies from Erdogan, who was then prime minister.
The AKP government was shaken by a vast corruption
scandal last December that dragged down four ministers
facing accusations of bribery and influence-peddling.
Erdogan, who was elected president in August, angrily
accused his former ally-turned-foe Gulen of concocting the
graft scandal.
Thirty people were arrested in raids earlier this month
against those deemed to have links to Gulen.
Most have now been released but a court has remanded in
custody on terrorism charges the head of the pro-Gulen
Samanyolu TV and three former police chiefs. It also issued
an arrest warrant for Gulen himself.
In power since 2003, Erdogan has brought relative stability
to Turkey after years of rocky coalition governments and an
economic meltdown in 2001.
But what critics describe as his increasingly authoritarian
style and zero-tolerance of criticism have proved a major
test for democracy in the country which has long sought to
join the European Union.
central Turkey for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
by accusing him and his ruling party of corruption, sparking
angry criticism on Thursday from the opposition.
The boy, identified by his initials M.E.A., was believed to be
a member of a leftist organisation, the Hurriyet newspaper
reported.
He delivered a speech on Wednesday in the central Anatolian
city of Konya, a bastion of Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted Justice
and Development Party (AKP), in memory of a young secular
teacher killed by Islamists in 1930, according to the
newspaper.
The boy, who was arrested by police at school, is now
facing up to four years in prison if convicted on the charge.
It was the latest controversial arrest in Turkey in recent
weeks. Recent police raids on media outlets affiliated with
Erdogan’s top foe, the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen,
sparked an angry exchange with the European Union, which
said the arrests undermined media freedom.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu supported the court’s
decision on the juvenile’s arrest.
“Everyone must respect the office of president whoever he
is,” Davutoglu said, quoted in Turkish media.
In his testimony to prosecutors, the boy denied links with
any political party and said that the local governor’s office
granted permission for the commemoration ceremony
organised through social media.
“I’ve made the statement in question. I have no intent to
insult,” he reportedly said.
The boy’s lawyer, Baris Ispir, submitted a petition to the
court, together with around 100 colleagues who came from
Istanbul in a show of support.
“Even if he is convicted, he is 16 years old which requires a
one-third reduction in his penalty,” the lawyer said,
according to the private Dogan news agency.
Riza Turmen, lawmaker of the secular opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP), denounced the arrest as a violation of
the UN charter on children’s rights.
“Regimes taking children out of classes by police force and
putting them in jail are fascist regimes,” Turmen, a former
judge at the European Court of Human Rights, wrote on
Twitter.
“This goes against the UN charter on children’s rights.”
Turkey’s government faced an unprecedented wave of
protests in 2013 against what was seen as authoritarian
policies from Erdogan, who was then prime minister.
The AKP government was shaken by a vast corruption
scandal last December that dragged down four ministers
facing accusations of bribery and influence-peddling.
Erdogan, who was elected president in August, angrily
accused his former ally-turned-foe Gulen of concocting the
graft scandal.
Thirty people were arrested in raids earlier this month
against those deemed to have links to Gulen.
Most have now been released but a court has remanded in
custody on terrorism charges the head of the pro-Gulen
Samanyolu TV and three former police chiefs. It also issued
an arrest warrant for Gulen himself.
In power since 2003, Erdogan has brought relative stability
to Turkey after years of rocky coalition governments and an
economic meltdown in 2001.
But what critics describe as his increasingly authoritarian
style and zero-tolerance of criticism have proved a major
test for democracy in the country which has long sought to
join the European Union.
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